They had barely got through the bedroom door before he was stripping her dress from her, palming her bottom, sucking her turgid nipples through the thin lace of her bra, his hand sinking into her panties to find her wet and needy.
They tore off each other’s clothing and he positioned her on the bed on all fours. She choked out a sob, the need a rush of pheromones and emotions.
‘I cannot wait… Can you take me?’ he asked, his voice gruff with desperation.
‘Yes…’ The word was dragged from the depths of her soul. Even though a part of her knew she was giving up an essential part of herself, she knew now it would be safe in his keeping.
But then she couldn’t think any more as he drove deep into her yearning flesh. She gasped, the thick intrusion as immense as always as he impaled her in one all-consuming thrust.
She sobbed, taken, possessed, the orgasm already building—so fast, so furious, so devastating. He pumped his hips, forcing her to take more, to take all of him, until he hit the spot only he had ever found.
She cried out as the first orgasm crested. His hands captured her swinging breasts to anchor them both, so he could pump harder and faster—another orgasm built, fusing with the first, turning torturous pleasure to exquisite pain.
The delirious climax shattered in endless waves, leaving her raw, spent, exhausted, as he shouted out his own release and collapsed on top of her.
But then he whispered into her hair, his arms wrapping tight around her, ‘You are my wife, myduquesa, my love, Cerys.’
Her heart crested at the astonished wonder in his tone, the sure steady feel of his heart beating against her back.
‘I never want to let you go again,’ he said, his voice thick with emotion.
‘Ditto,el Duque,’ she murmured, her heart soaring as his rich chuckle of appreciation reverberated in her soul.
EPILOGUE
Ten months later
‘Feliz cumpleaños, Ana!’
A cheer went up around the courtyard, which was decked out in a cascade of fairy lights. The birthday girl beamed at Cerys as she accepted the congratulations of the friends she had made at the local high school in the past six months. Ever since Cerys had insisted her sister-in-law come home for good from her latest boarding school to live permanently with her and Santiago at thecastillo.
Santiago’s arms wrapped around Cerys’s midriff and he pulled her back against his chest to nuzzle her ear. ‘You spoil my sister, Cerys,’ he whispered, but she could hear the amusement in his voice and knew he was joking.
It had been a little awkward at first, having Ana home—especially as Santiago seemed incapable of keeping his hands off her for more than a few hours at a time. But it had been the right thing to do, she decided as she watched Ana blow out the candles on the huge cake María and her team had been working on for days.
Ana deserved a home too, and it had been nothing short of wonderful watching Santiago finally start to bond with his sister. And watching Ana grow into a much more mature and sensible young woman—give or take the odd outrageous attempt to provoke him.
Plus they still had enough privacy—thecastillohad six hundred rooms, and they lived in the villa on the edge of the vineyards. Not only that, but they also had to do a lot of travelling, to Madrid and Barcelona, for her new job as thecastillo’s hospitality manager, as well as for Santiago’s work.
She knew her husband had created the position to appease her—when she’d started making noises again, a few weeks after their honeymoon was over, about working for a living. But she also knew she’d pleased him with how much she’d loved doing it. And how much she had managed to achieve, which had actually surprised her a lot more than it had ended up surprising Santiago, who had turned out to be her biggest cheerleader.
She’d been nervous as hell that first day, not sure her extensive skills as a barista, a barmaid and a waitress really qualified her to manage anything. The good news was, at first it had only been her running the new programme which she had developed herself. She’d been able to reassure herself that if her ideas were dumb and she failed, at least no one would be made to pay for her mistakes but her.
She now had a staff of six people, and the new luxury wine-tasting banquets, which finished off the tours the vineyard had been doing for years, had not only boosted that area of the business but had also garnered some fabulous reviews and were now a thriving success. The fact that she adored her job didn’t hurt either, and the chance to contribute something to the family and the man who had given her so much.
‘She deserves to be spoilt, she’s been invaluable as a hostess this month,’ she shot back.
She’d hired Ana to host some of the new summer banquets they had added to the schedule as soon as she’d finished her final exams at the local high school. And while Santiago had frowned a little at the thought of his sister working for him, Ana had loved it—and quickly proved herself to be reliable and hard-working. And her confidence had soared every time Santiago showed her he trusted her and praised her work, which Cerys had encouraged him to do at every available opportunity.
She had adored arranging the surprise party, knowing that Ana would love the chance to celebrate her eighteenth birthday with her schoolfriends and the colleagues she’d made at the bodega. But as she watched the girl rush through the crowd to hand the first slice of cake to the bodega manager Joaquín—who was brooding silently from his place on the sidelines—she was glad Santiago was too busy nuzzling her neck to notice the bright light of infatuation in his sister’s eyes. She supposed she’d have to have a sisterly chat with Ana about that.
But she didn’t want to come on too strong.
Because,wow, she knew exactly what that giddy rush of first love felt like when Santiago’s hands settled over her belly, and her heart did a backflip.
After all, she was still totally infatuated with Ana’s brother.
She sighed and covered Santiago’s hands with hers, stupidly happy, but also nervous.